Ads are everywhere today. You can’t walk through a street in NYC without seeing a dozen ads all at once. Not only have ads permeated our streets, they have made their way all over the internet. The question remains though, who actually likes ads? Well, I guess the answer would be the people making money off of them. But seriously, I think it is safe to say that the majority of us would be happy if we never saw another ad on Youtube again. Ah yes, I miss the days when I could serf through Youtube seamlessly and not have to worry about a 30 second advertisement before I watch my favorite music video. Unfortunately, ads are here to stay, but an interesting blog on PandoDaily explains how things may just get better for us!

So here is a fun fact that I picked up from their blog: 90% of applications in the App Store are free! PandoDaily’s Nathanial Mott explains that “an increasing number of applications are being given away for free and subsidized by advertisements, in-app purchases…” This clearly means more ads on our apps and phones.

Mott tells that smartphone users spend around two hours using their apps each day (!), and so if we are going to have more ads in our life, then perhaps they should become just a little more pleasant for us.

I completely agree, ads should suck less. And here this idea dawned on me..if people are spending hours each day on their smartphones, then perhaps ads can be useful for us. Let me explain. Kiip, a mobile ads network/rewards platform, is creating an advertisement service that rewards an app user for accomplishing varying objectives in a game or for accomplishing all his/her to-do list. Well, I’d like to take this to another level. People are on their phones all day, every day. So why not throw in an advertisement every time someone opens their phone. For instance, when an Iphone user slides the arrow across the screen to unlock his/her Iphone, why not have a 2 second ad pop up. Of course this should be completely optional because I could understand that some people might be staunchly against that. But for those who do decide to go through with this program, they will be rewarded after viewing a certain amount of advertisements.

My advertisement Idea could play out like this – Every time an Iphone user unlocks his/her phone, a Starbucks advertisement is shown for about two seconds. The user then receives one rewards point for watching the Starbucks ad. After 500 points (arbitrary number), the user receives a $5 coupon at any Starbucks. Everyone loves free stuff and discounts, so this would be a win-win situation. This rewards program gives mobile marketers easier access to the users and consumers, and the users/consumers get a pretty cool reward if you ask me. This sounds like good business to me, but I’d be curious as to what others think of this idea. Maybe this idea is a star to something, who knows!